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Monday, October 3, 2016

My want list is a facade

I have what some people have said is an extensive want list on this blog. It has received 10,927 clicks as of this writing (I promise not all of them are from me). It has proven to be valuable over and over.

But there is one flaw in my want list:

It is a facade. A charade. A ruse. A front. An illusion.

I am reminded constantly of how inaccurate my want list is. The most recent time was with a generous swath of cards sent to me by Johnny from Johnny's Trading Spot. Out of the Dodgers that he sent to me, just about half of the cards that I needed weren't on my want list.

Why am I even keeping up this pretense?

Let's take a look at the cards that weren't on the list and see if I can determine a reason in the world why I wouldn't have had them on my list.

1987 Sportflics Mike SciosciaReason why it wasn't on the want list: I'm sure I thought I had completed the team set for this long ago. False confidence is the enemy of a respectable want list.

2001 Fleer Focus Mark Grudzielanek

Reason why it wasn't on the want list: Another team set that I thought I had already completed. Unlike the Sportflics card, this had nothing to do with confidence. With any set from the mid-1990s to the present time, I always assume -- even if the set seems to be complete -- there something out there I don't have.

1993 Ted Williams Company Tommy Davis, Memories insert

Reason why it wasn't on the want list: I've been cavalier when it comes to inserts from the 1990s. Part of my brain wants to believe there weren't any inserts in the first half of the '90s. Ho ho! Stupid brain.

Reason why it wasn't on the want list: I get very tired when it comes to listing parallels. If it's something that seems pointless -- such as foil-stamped parallels -- then chances are I couldn't muster the strength to put it on the want list.

2011 Bowman Matt Kemp, gold parallel

Reason why it wasn't on the want list: Bowman bias. I am pretty faithful in including gold parallels for Topps. I don't do it for Bowman. I don't do a lot of things for Bowman -- like buy packs.

1995 Stadium Club Raul Mondesi Members Only Rookie Picks

Reason why it wasn't on the want list: I'm not even sure what this is. Is it an insert? It wasn't on the want list because the places I look at to compile want lists didn't include whatever set this is. I need to be more steadfast in my want list research.

1991 Topps Box Bottom Alfredo Griffin

Reason why it wasn't on the want list: My brain wants to believe that box bottoms were strictly an '80s thing.

2001 Private Stock Shawn GreenReason why it wasn't on the want list: I just figured out Private Stock existed three or four years ago. What did I do with that knowledge? Promptly forgot about it.

1995 Topps Archives Bert Hamric, '55 ToppsReason why it wasn't on the want list: I thought I had compiled a fairly complete list for the '95 Archives set, but when I checked what I had with these cards and that want list, I lost all respect for that particular want list. It's waaaaaaaay off. So off, I don't even feel like fixing it.

But before you start thinking that I did a terrible job advertising what cards I need. Here are some cards that Johnny sent that actually were on my want list:

That makes me feel a little better about the want list.

Johnny also sent some night cards that I'm sure you'll see posted on here in the months to come.